I'm surprised and shocked by that comment..... and find it offensive
Have I taken it out of context or misunderstood the meaning. ?
Joe
You have definitely taken it out of context. When I said "to many people" I did not include myself among that number. Living in the South it's what I hear too often: "gays are deviants that need to be stopped." Why? I have no idea. Maybe they're afraid of being converted, and I tell them that if you can be converted then you're already gay and don't know it.
This is actually a very good point Ellie P and Joe. Even though I fully appreciate any sexual orientation, such paranoias among many people are not completely unfounded even though they are inaccurate.
This may be best for another thread, but since it was brought up here I feel what I write below it will shed some more light.
Some examples I have encountered right here on LPSG:
Certain gay men online have expressed to me directly the fact that they do not really accept "straight" as a legitimate claim of sexual orientation. They will say "We hear it all the time" as if it holds no bearing whatsoever. As if they do not accept a man can actually be completely straight. It could come across to many straight men as indirect pressure, thus erroneously seen as "an agenda" of some kind if they run into it enough times. I am one of the straight guys who loves and adores cock praise from anyone, but there are other straight men on here who have expressed to me that they get creeped out by gay and bi men's sexual attempts at them on here.
It thus seems that the belief that men can be pressured or allured into becoming at least Bi-Sexual to some degree seems to be a commonly held view expressed by gay men I have encountered. Obviously many gay men are not like this, but there are enough who are to warrant some caution in terms of associating with them among legitimately straight men. Gay men have also expressed to me a common fetish of having sex with a straight man as a sort of taboo that turns them on in various ways.
Let's not forget that homosexual gang rape exists too in the world. I have even heard of it happening locally.
But I would assume that most men who it may have happened to either convince themselves they agreed to it to some degree OR just never discuss it out of fear of being seen as "unmanly" etc.
As it tends to be socially assumed that if you are a male rape victim you are somehow "weak" and not manly enough. When that is simply not true.
Also the fact that homosexuality is accepted as a given standard in prisons is another cause for concern as there are many men who would never dream of having sex with another man no matter how long they were locked up.
So yes, my point is there is alot of pressure on straight men to be fully okay with and accept gay men into their personal lives in various ways under the pressure that if they don't they will be labelled a "homophobe" etc. I have seen such labeling on this very site many times. A man not feeling comfortable interacting with gay men who he knows are sexually attracted to him does not in any way mean he is a "homophobe" just the same as a gay man not feeling comfortable in the presence of women trying to sexually allure him does not make him a "heterophobe"
I hope this sheds some insight on the point you brought up.